Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Saving Graces
Barbara: For a long time I've wanted to share this little "miracle" treatment I've been using to great success. In all my years of trial and error, one of my favourite no-fail natural cure-alls has been castor oil. It was recommended to me by an amazing healer many years ago and I use it religiously. Not to be confused with cod liver oil, castor oil comes from a flower and is mild and lovely. I use it externally as a remedy for skin issues like rashes, bruises, those hard little calcium deposits that love to pop up around the eyes, and for spider veins on my legs. I am prone to all of these and applying the castor oil has eliminated the calcium bumps as they come up, helps to diffuse the darkening of any bruises, and has actually kept more spider veins at bay, even minimizing the look of the ones that are already there. It is cheap and easy to find at a natural store. It is completely safe and can even go into your eyes if you apply it too closely, with no issues at all! The only problem is that it is goopy and thick. I rub it into my legs every morning until the goopiness has mostly gone and only wear it when I'm wearing jeans or thick pants where it won't bleed through. After doing this for the better part of five years I can assure you that it won't damage your clothes. I also use it as a cheap night cream every few nights and most nights I also massage it in around my eyes on top of my eye cream. Every one I know who uses it absolutely swears by it. But most people don't know about it, so I'm sharing it here! If you've tried it, let us know your experience. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my ability (although obviously no expert) (and, no, this is not an advertising endorsement!).
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Love a good beauty tip! Barb, will it eliminate what I now know, thanks to you, are calcium deposits ALREADY under the eyes? I had wondered if they were there because I used too much cream. But then, if I don't, the lines become the issue. Between them and the dark circles I've always had it's a skin tragedy of epic proportions.
ReplyDeleteYes! I had a bunch of them and they are gone gone gone. That said, it does take time, several months maybe. But they did finally go away and they continue to stay away. If they start to come back, I know I've been lax on my castor oil treatments. And, no, I don't think they're related to cream -- I think they're a pretty normal part of the aging process, depending on skin type (and by aging, I mean mine have sprung up since I hit my mid-twenties!).
DeleteOh, excellent! I am prone to most of those things, too! Nice to hear about a remedy that doesn't come in a $60 bottle! So thank you!
ReplyDeleteIn fact, this bottle cost me 8 bucks and lasts at least 4 months (even with leg massages!).
DeleteI wonder if it would help my skin, I've got mild Karatosis Pilaris and am always trying new things to remove it. It's basically small white bumps on the backs of my arms and legs not a big deal or even that visible it just annoys me. I keep being told to use mosturizer with stearic acid but it makes my skin red so maybe I'll give this a try.
ReplyDeleteMy odd beauty tip is Sudocream, it's a diaper rash cream but I use it on my face. It clears up acne, removes redness and mosturizes without being oily. I developed acne issues after my kids were born and this is the only thing thats worked for me. You look like casper when you first rub it in but it works wonders for my skin.
Oh, I can answer this one with confidence -- as I have those too. It definitely works. That said, I got rid of those arm bumps even with regular moisturizer (which I tried before I discovered castor oil). The trick is to use it every day. I used the Nivea Q10 cream on those bumps.
DeleteAs for the diaper rash cream -- I do that too! We use Desiten. It's the zinc in it that cures the pimples and Desiten has the highest percentage of zinc that I've found. Like you say, not super pretty but makes an excellent night remedy.
NICE...! thanks sweetie :)....
ReplyDeleteI have a few more easy cures.....
to solve itchy eyes, stress or headaches.....rose water...soak cotton in rose water and put in on your eyes for a while
and for any scratch and stuff coconut oil is good too....skin even soaks it quickly....
Sandalwood powder is really great for the skin especially acne...you take some powder put some warm water in it apply to your face and keep it for a while and then wash it off...its very soothing.I know a recipe for making a natural scrub at home but I am not sure if you could find all the ingredients there....lemme know if you want it anyway!
Turmeric is great for wounds its stops the bleeding immediately...but it hurts really bad....
Cant think of anymore right now.....I'll update later if I remember others !!
:D
PS.... if you massage the veins with warm coconut oil...it might help too
DeleteOoh, all GREAT suggestions, Shalaka! And I also swear by coconut oil. In fact, every few days I slather on coconut oil and top it with castor oil for a greasy but very healing night cream. My skin looks radiant in the morning.
DeleteI am sure it does...!!! I know castor oil is really good for hair too...I makes hair thicker and gives it a shine...although its a pain in the ass to wash...coz it doesnt get off easily !! Coconut oil is really really good for skin.....and it gets absorbed soon too....So cool that you posted this today coz I got a really great oil massage today ! I feel so relaxed and refreshed !!
DeleteShalaka those are some great tips. Is there any chance I could have that natural scrub recipe?
DeleteYeah sure...My mom has it actually...I'll ask her when she gets back from work..and post it in my comment today k ? :)
DeleteLove the tip.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I think I've heard about using castor oil before. This sounds like something to try! Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteI use very little of anything on my skin. I do use Olay foaming face wash. The price sounds right on the castor oil, so maybe I'll try this on some little veins that seem to want to make their debut. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI really, really, REALLY hate to be that person,... but. But.
ReplyDeleteCastor oil might be safe for you, but it's not safe to make for you. Because the castor plant contains ricin, harvesting the plant is a human health risk, and workers in the major production areas suffer severe nerve damage from the allergenic compounds on the plant surface during crop harvests. (And unfortunately, castor can only be harvested by hand.)
No, thank you for being that person!! I had no idea, Kelly. In fact, how did you find out about this -- I'd like to look into it. Thank you for sharing this news.
DeleteI was doing some reading/research on the oil-cleansing method a few years ago and stumbled across a list of plants that are not good for the people harvesting, and castor was on the top of the list due to allergins in the leaves and the whole ricin thing. (Since in order to get castor oil you have to have the beans, and the beans are what contain ricin.)
DeleteOffhand, the opening to this pdf explains the need to find an alternate source of the fatty acids contained within (specifically, ricinoleic acid, but also linoleic and oleic fatty acids), in order to avoid harvest dangers for crop workers. Unfortunately, it's not the kind of thing often written about outside of food/crop academic journals, since... well, it's not the sort of sexy story that sells, I suppose.
Okay, I thought I included the link?
Deletehttp://ddr.nal.usda.gov/dspace/bitstream/10113/14630/1/IND20617020.pdf
Try that again,... long day, it was long.
Thanks so much, Kelly, will look into this! As castor has been harvested for thousands of years, I'm surprised this isn't more common discussion.
DeleteI suspect that the answer is like a lot of agriculture: large monocultures that are driven by international, rather than local, demands, create "unnatural" situations that create a lot more risk for workers. Mechanization helps with a lot, but because you need the whole bean for castor oil extraction, and harvesters tend to break beans, it's still something mostly done by hand.
DeleteI love Castor oil too, My father discovered it's benefits in the A.R.E. Research on Edgar Cayce. I tried his Castor Oil packs, (flannel soaked with castor oil and applied with heating pad..you can find on You Tube) to reduce the bone pain I was suffering from last year before I had two hip replacements...GAK! castor oil for that was amazing! I am going to try all that you have suggested here Barb. maybe it will help my new zipper scars too!
ReplyDeletethx.
Val
I have just Castor oiled my eyes and calcium deposit, my lower legs and spider veins and notice that it feels good. I'll let you know in a few months...
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have a natural thing that I'm quite enjoying. Due to a health condition I have really oily skin and, as a result, acne. I take zinc tablets and they really seem to work. You need to research how many milligrams you need and then check which suppliers give you the best one, but it's worth it (I think). The reason I know it works for me is because I stopped taking it for a while and my face went nuts. Went back on it and my skin gradually calmed down again. It's not an instant cure, it takes a while to build up in your system, but it works for me :)
So interesting. Never even thought about the benefits of a zinc vitamin. But I can certainly speak to the zinc in baby rash cream!
DeleteI use bag balm to cure a multitude of skin ailments. It's meant to cure abrasions on cows' udders but it works miracles on burns, dry skin, cuts, chapped lips and I even use it on my wrinkly neck. It doesn't get rid of the turkey wattles but perhaps it prevents more? Doesn't smell real good though. I buy it at the feed store and a $6.00 can (with a pretty cow on it) lasts forever.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I've heard of that stuff! Doesn't Lee Valley sell it too? Or something like it?
DeleteThanks for the tip. I will have to try it.
ReplyDelete